Martial Saint with Passives

...

Tingzhu Garden.

After covering his body in a green powder, Jiang Che began practicing his Pile Skill.

This was the Poisonous Powder Zhang Jinghuai had deduced was needed for the Poison Technique.

But an hour passed, and his Qi Blood still showed no reaction.

"Well? Is it having any effect?" Zhang Jinghuai asked expectantly.

Jiang Che shook his head. "I don’t feel a thing. Are you sure this Poison Technique isn’t just something someone made up?"

"How could that be... It shouldn’t be like this..." Zhang Jinghuai stroked his beard, lost in thought.

Jiang Che shook his head again. After washing off the Poisonous Powder and getting dressed, he prepared to leave.

Suddenly, Zhang Jinghuai seemed to recall something and muttered to himself, "Pigeon Red Mushroom! It’s the Pigeon Red Mushroom!"

"Pigeon Red Mushroom? What’s that?" Jiang Che stopped in his tracks.

"A type of poisonous mushroom from the mountains. It usually grows in dark, damp places, especially areas with a lot of venomous insects," Zhang Jinghuai explained.

"Since you know what it is, let’s hurry up and prepare it so we can give it a try!" Jiang Che said.

Learning a Poison Technique would be quite a good thing.

But Zhang Jinghuai shook his head. "The Pigeon Red Mushroom must be used within two days of being picked. Otherwise, its toxicity diminishes significantly, making it useless. I don’t have any in stock, so it has to be freshly picked from the mountains."

"So what do we do? Find someone to pick it from the mountains?" Jiang Che asked.

"Don’t be hasty. Let me see if I can ask someone to get it," Zhang Jinghuai said.

Jiang Che nodded. If Zhang Jinghuai could get his hands on it, he wouldn’t bother with the effort himself.

However, several days passed, and Zhang Jinghuai still hadn’t heard any news about the Pigeon Red Mushroom.

Only Martial Artists at the Peak of the Stone Skin Realm or higher could venture into the mountains.

Even if such people went, it was always to hunt Black Beasts. No one would bother picking mushrooms.

And recently, the people from the Hunting Hall hadn’t gone into the mountains, so there was no opportunity to ask them to bring some back on the side.

So Jiang Che said he would try to figure something out himself.

After memorizing its appearance, he planned to go to the mountains to search for it himself.

After buying some Black Beast bait and Deodorizing Powder from a shop within the Gang’s territory, Jiang Che set out.

Although there were recent rumors of disappearances on Moon Viewing Mountain, he had never been to Coiling Dragon Mountain, which was comparatively more dangerous. So, Jiang Che still chose to go to Moon Viewing Mountain.

Once on the mountain, Jiang Che specifically sought out dark and damp places to search.

He encountered a few scattered Black Beasts along the way, but they were all low-level and he dispatched them with a single slash of his blade.

However, these damp places were home to many venomous insects.

Fortunately, Jiang Che had his Iron Body Basic and Rejuvenation Talent. Combined with his daily testing of poisons and medicines, his resistance was extremely high.

Getting stung by a venomous insect was no big deal; he would recover quickly.

He didn’t even need to use his Transformation to detoxify.

Soon, he found some reddish mushrooms with a few white spots on them.

They looked very similar to Zhang Jinghuai’s description.

However, Zhang Jinghuai had said the cap of a Pigeon Red Mushroom was flat.

The caps on these mushrooms were hemispherical.

Jiang Che couldn’t tell if they were the right ones, so he simply picked them all.

After carefully placing them in the pack he carried, Jiang Che moved on to the next location to continue his search.

After searching for another hour, Jiang Che had collected dozens of mushrooms of various types.

’There have to be at least a few Pigeon Red Mushrooms among these, right?’

Seeing that it was getting late, Jiang Che decided to head back.

As he reached halfway down the mountain, Jiang Che suddenly heard the clang of metal ahead. It sounded like people fighting!

Jiang Che slowly approached and found that the sounds of fighting were growing fainter.

Then came the sounds of angry curses and miserable screams.

Getting closer, Jiang Che was finally able to see the situation clearly.

A group of Martial Artists clad in Beast Hides were tying up several men who were dressed as Hunters.

Every one of these Beast Hide-wearing Martial Artists had a powerful aura. They were all at least at the Mid Stage of the Iron Skin Realm.

And among them, a huge man, built like a bear with the sides of his head shaved and a small braid on top, seemed to be at the Peak of the Iron Skin Realm!

"How many more do we need?" the large man asked.

"Boss, including these, we’re still short fifteen!" someone answered.

"Godfather needs them in five days at the latest. We have to keep capturing more!" the large man said.

"But Boss," a subordinate said hesitantly, "there are fewer and fewer Hunters on this mountain. Where else can we go to catch so many skilled men?"

"We’ll check out Coiling Dragon Mountain tomorrow," the large man said in a low voice.

Hiding off to the side, Jiang Che frowned slightly.

This group was clearly bad news.

He recalled the rumors he’d heard in the teahouse about the missing Hunters.

Perhaps the truth was that this very group was the one capturing people on the mountain!

’Judging by their clothes, they don’t look like locals. I wonder where these Martial Artists came from...’

Jiang Che didn’t know this group’s background, nor did he know if they had reinforcements.

He wasn’t some bleeding-heart saint who saved everyone he saw.

Getting himself involved and caught would be foolish.

But trying to leave now would easily make a sound.

Besides, the path ahead was the only way down the mountain.

If he wanted to avoid a confrontation, his only choice was to wait for them to leave.

The Martial Artists in Beast Hides finished tying everyone up and began escorting their captives down the mountain.

Jiang Che waited patiently, though it meant he’d be getting down the mountain later.

As long as he used his Qinggong, he should still be able to make it back before dark.

Suddenly, Jiang Che heard a rustling sound from behind him!

Startled, he quietly glanced back.

He saw a pitch-black Leopard with long, blade-like teeth, crouching not far away in an ambush stance!

’A Blade-toothed Leopard!’

Jiang Che knew this was bad!

The Blade-toothed Leopard was a Black Beast at the Mid Stage of the Iron Skin Realm.

Normally, Jiang Che wouldn’t be afraid of it.

But hiding here now, he didn’t know what to do!

The Blade-toothed Leopard let out a low growl and lunged, its pair of forearm-length fangs aiming for Jiang Che’s neck!